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源于 The Christian Science Monitor July 1， 2016
http：//www．csmonitor．com/USA/2016/0701/As－wildfires－challenge－California－the－causes－go－beyond－climate
As wildfires challenge California， the causes go beyond climate
A shift in thought
Wildfire season has become longer and more intense lately． But beyond addressing climate change， some researchers call for a paradigm shift to address
the various human factors relating to prevention and safety．
By Jessica Mendoza， Staff writer July 1， 2016
"
Azusa， Calif． － On a chain－link fence along Route 39 hangs a homemade poster， peppered with hearts， thanking firefighters and police．
The sign， one of a handful scattered
across town， salutes efforts to battle
the San Gabriel Complex fire， twin blazes that had erupted on June 20 in the mountains
of Angeles National Forest just to the north of the city． Within a day of igniting， the fire had burned through nearly 5，000 acres and forced hundreds to evacuate．
Nearly a week passed before the US Forest Service and local and state
authorities managed to contain even half of the inferno．
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"Three days in， you could still see the
flames，" says Jasmine Perez， a teacher's assistant and resident of Azusa， which sits northeast of Los Angeles． And because of the smoke， she adds， "In the mornings， it kind of looked like nighttime still．"
The San Gabriel Complex was one of 12 large fires that about 4，000 firefighters were battling across California as of Thursday． Such numbers so early in the fire season are a testament
to the growing frequency and intensity of wildfires in the western US， fire officials say － a shift that many experts say is likely intertwined
with climate change and its associated consequences， such as drought．
But climate， however critical， is only part of the problem， scientists say． A growing body of evidence suggests that other human
activity and policy have at least as much impact on wildfires as climate change． To effectively address a longer and more intense
wildfire season － and ensure the safety
of residents in fire－prone areas － both environmental and human factors have to be taken
into account in more holistic ways， they say．
That means more than just sweeping dry brush off the front porch． Though such steps are an important part of the process， officials and researchers alike are calling for a
comprehensive approach to wildfires： one that incorporates fire safety and behavior in
key policy decisions and legislation． Such an effort would also recognize that fire can
be helpful as well as harmful and embrace fire's place in human society．
"We need not just a policy shift but also a cultural shift in
the dialogue around fires in our landscape and how to manage them，" says Jennifer Balch， director of Earth Lab and a professor of geography
at the University of Colorado in Boulder． "Fire is not something we can remove． A large majority of the country is living in fire－prone areas． How do we live with wildfire?
How do we manage?"
"More and more researchers are arguing that anthropogenic influences
are really important [to understanding wildfires]，" adds Max Moritz， a specialist in fire ecology and management and a
professor at the College of Natural Resources at the University of California， Berkeley． "By leaving them out we're missing a critical
piece of the solution．"
Changing attitudes on fire
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Though often viewed as a problem for western states， the growing frequency of wildfires is a national
concern because of its impact on federal tax dollars， Professor Moritz and others say．
In 2015， the US Forest Service
for the first time spent more than half of its $5．5 billion annual budget fighting fires － nearly double the percentage it spent on such efforts
20 years ago． In effect， fewer federal funds today are going towards the agency's
other work － such as forest conservation， watershed and cultural resources management， and infrastructure upkeep － that affect the lives of all Americans．
Another nationwide concern is whether public funds from other agencies， such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development， are going into construction in fire－prone districts． As Moritz puts it， how often are federal dollars building homes that
are likely to be lost to a wildfire?
"It's already a huge problem from a public expenditure perspective
for the whole country，" he says． "We need to take a magnifying glass to that． Like， 'Wait a minute， is this OK?' Do we want instead to redirect those
funds to concentrate on lower－hazard parts of the landscape?"
Such a pivot would require a corresponding shift in the way US society
today views fire， researchers say．
For one thing， conversations about wildfires
need to be more inclusive． Over the past decade， the focus has been on climate change － how the warming of the Earth from greenhouse gases （including human carbon emissions） is leading to conditions that exacerbate fires．
While climate is a key element， Moritz says， it shouldn't come at the expense of the rest of the
equation．
"The human systems and the landscapes we live on are linked， and the interactions go both ways，" he says． Failing to recognize that， he notes， leads to "an overly simplified view of what
the solutions might be． Our perception of the
problem and perception of what the solution is [becomes] very limited．"
At the same time， people continue to treat
fire as an event that needs to be wholly controlled and unleashed only out of necessity， says Professor Balch at the University of Colorado． But acknowledging fire's inevitable presence in human
life is an attitude crucial to developing the laws， policies， and practices that make it as safe as possible， she says．
"We've disconnected ourselves from living with fire，" Balch says． "It is really important
to understand and try and tease out what is the human connection [with fire] today．"
Role for citizens ．．． and for policy
After nearly 30 years in the state fire service， Janet Upton understands the value of that connection．
During her early days with the California Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection （Cal Fire）， veterans would tell war stories of huge fires that
happened once in a career， she recalls．
"But in my generation， those of us who've come up through the '80s， '90s， 2000s … we feel like we don't have the license to use the
word 'unprecedented' any more． We've seen it all in the last few years，" she says． "I've probably had
15 once－in－a－career fires．"
And people caused most of them， Ms． Upton says． About 90 percent of all fires in California can be
traced to human activity， whether it's a stove left
on or a campfire left burning． Which is why public education has been Upton's main
goal since 2008， when then－Gov． Arnold Schwarzenegger
appointed her Cal Fire's deputy communications director．
The department has since made strides， playing a major role in launching state and nationalcampaigns
that underscore the public's role in fire safety． But people's tendency to put danger out of their
minds until it's too late continues to pose serious challenges， Upton says．
"This is going to sound cold． But if someone chooses to live in a rural area and
continues to not be responsive to [fire－safety] education， sadly， the worst punishment they're going to get is they're
going to lose their home in a fire，" she says．
A paradigm shift， some researchers hope， can address that gap between education and action． Environmental policy specialist Ray Rasker， for instance， envisions whole communities designed around the concept
of fire safety， and a slate of fire－prevention policies at the local， state， and national level．
"What we're telling the public now is， 'Reduce the risk of fires － if you so choose．' Imagine if we tried driving our cars like that，" says Dr． Rasker， who is also executive director of Headwaters Economics， a nonprofit research firm based in Bozeman， Mont． "Why not use regulations， building codes， and subdivision design standards， development codes and ordinances that say， 'Look if you're going to build there， there are certain conditions you have to meet first'?"
Some places are already taking steps． San Diego's municipal code， for instance， requires property owners to maintain landscape and
vegetation standards － or face a penalty equivalent
to the cost of hiring a private contractor to do so． Austin， Texas， has set aside close to 30 percent of city land as
conservation areas， curbing the number of
new structures that can be built within the fire－prone "wildland－urban interface" （WUI） － the space between unoccupied natural land and human
developments． Flagstaff， Ariz．， Boulder， Colo．， and Santa Fe， N．M．， have all enacted similar
policies．
But the need for action continues to grow． As bad as wildfires have been in recent years， research shows they're likely to get worse as the
US population increases and people build more homes in the WUI， more than 80 percent of which remain undeveloped．
"We keep building more and more homes in harm's way，" Rasker notes． "Unless we get a handle on development， we're really not addressing the problem．"
Mind－set matters， too － for everyone， says Upton at Cal Fire．
"It's a mitigation issue． You can take the lens we're looking at [in California]
and take it to Tornado Alley or the Eastern Seaboard，" she says． In the end， "it's about informing yourself as a member of
the public or a policymaker． How can you do something comprehensive?"